BRAND NEW: Samsung SL 20E

Samsung SL 25MC Overview

Samsung SL 25ASY Overview

CNC Lathes

A history lesson of the CNC Lathe ...

A lathe is a machine tool that is used in various operations such as drilling, cutting, sanding or polishing in order to create a symmetrical object. Essentially, it holds the material that has to be worked upon and rotates it against a tool that shapes it. CNC Lathes are being used to make operations like cutting and drilling easier than ever before.

The CNC Lathe machine is believed to have been first discovered in late 1950s by John. T. Parsons. The manufacturing industry received a big boost as the discovery lead to more productive and faster manufacturing processes.

They come in many sizes but basically have a tool turret to hold the drills, cutters, other tools and a spindle that holds different types of metal. Computer Numerical Control Lathe Machine are referred to as lathe machines and as the name suggests, they are operated by programs that give instructions as to what has to be done. The ultimate control thus rests with the computer and if programmed correctly, the end products are highly controlled and precise. It is important to remember that inaccurate programs or incorrect tool settings can cause damage and inaccuracies.

The machine is controlled through a computer menu style interface and the program used to run the lathe machine can be modified at any time. In contrast to manual lathes that allow only a single tool to be used at a time, the lathe can not only change tools very fast but can also feed into the parts fairly quickly. This speeds up the machining process.

Although operators do need some basic level of skills to use these machines, it definitely overcomes the limitations of the older machines, where operators had to know the ins and outs of every single machine. Today, a single supervisor can oversee the operation of a number of small machines.

Lathes can be used to cut wood, metal and plastic and are often used to produce camshafts and crankshafts.

The design of a these machines has been evolving pretty rapidly in recent times; however, the basic parts and the principles on which the lathe operates remains pretty much the same. These Lathe machines are often enclosed as per safety standards.

There are many advantages to using CNC lathes; they are far more accurate than the manual ones, especially in cases where several exact copies of a piece need to be made. Moreover, there's very little wastage and the time taken to manufacture the pieces is considerably less than the time consumed while using the lathe manually. The most important factor however, is that it doesn't require a great amount of skill to operate a CNC Lathe. Operating costs are also lower, human effort is minimal and chances of injury are less.

CNC Machines

An introduction to lathes and machining...

Manufacturing companies are facing stiff competition and not keeping pace with advances in technology means missing the boat. Today machine operators no longer resort to operating machines manually as most companies are now equipped with CNC machines.

CNC, which stands for Computer Numerical control is made up of a mini computer that acts as the controlling unit of the machine. The concept of numerical control is rather common when speaking of machine tools and refers to the set of instructions (called program) that control the machine as against manual operation. Depending on the job being carried out, the program instructions also change, allowing a lot of flexibility in use.

In a CNC machine, these instructions are fed directly to the computer through a keyboard like contraption and stored in the memory. The advantage here is that programmers can edit the programs based on their specific needs and requirements and once written they just have to be recalled from the memory when desired.

Operating CNC machines require only basic training and skills and today's operator can supervise several machines at the same time. This is in stark contrast to yesteryear when operators needed years of training at training institutes to learn how to operate milling machines, drills and lathes, which are some of the common machine tools that run on these machines.

For example, if metal needs to be cut, the processes involved, the dimensions required need to be fed into the computer through a program. The computer thus understands what needs to be done and exactly follows instructions in the program. Contrast this with the time when this job had to be done manually. Only experts could do such high precision jobs, whereas today, operators just have to feed the program into the computer, load the required tools in the machine and the computer directs the machine tools to work as per the instructions in the program. Once the job is over, the machine automatically picks up the next job without any human intervention. All machines require are raw material and programs; a high degree of precision is usually obtained.

The advantages of using a CNC are thus rather obvious. Apart from being able to work for long times without break (for maintenance), they work tirelessly to produce end products that are identical in shape, size and design. Anyone with some basic training can operate them. Operators can practice using the CNC machine by using virtual software, which can be constantly improved upon and updated.

No strict supervision is necessary and one supervisor can manage many CNC machines that have been pre-programed for a particular job.